If you read this, I will pay you…

Compliments. If you read all the way through this, I will pay you compliments!

If you stare into the mirror for a while, you’ll notice things that you have never seen before. You’ll definitely notice that you’ve aged and changed. That’s not a bad thing if you account for it in your limits and in your strengths. The National Weather Association has also aged and changed. We are wiser and intend to have a long, healthy life. That’s why we follow best practices for organizational, financial, and legal security. Expect to see some of these changes in our updated Bylaws and amended Articles of Incorporation. They will be different, but different is not bad when it has a good reason behind it. Without change, there is no progress.

Many NWA members may wonder what the staff and Council do behind the scenes. You need to know your National Weather Association is working hard to ensure our organization has a positive and robust future, continuing our mission of supporting operational meteorologists.

While we are a non-profit association—we operate as a business. The NWA staff handles all the business of maintaining an organization: office spaces, mailings, memberships, communications, conference logistics, bills, accounting, and fulfilling tax and legal requirements. Committees work with the executive staff to support things like social media, marketing, seals of approval, training webinars, and diversity just to name a few.

The annual conference is formatted and planned by a steering committee with input from our varied committees and guidance from our Council and NWA staff. It’s a flurry of activity that our active members volunteer to make it a breeze.

The NWA Council oversees the mission and vision for who we are, what we want to be, and where we are going. In April, we met for training on how to be a more effective governing board and strategic planning. Without a plan and goals, we would float aimlessly.

Did you know our NWA structure and history is on our website? Look through it. Do you have suggestions for how we can better serve your professional needs? Do you have questions about why NWA does or doesn’t do certain things? You can email me President@nwas.org or headquarters nwahelp@nwas.org. Of course, you can talk with me, the executive staff, and Councilors face-to-face at our upcoming Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, this August, if you are there.